5.  The applicant was born in 1972 and lives in Serbia.
6.  In 1992 the applicant was found guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced to seventeen years’ imprisonment by an Italian court in abstentia.
7.  On 11 August 1994 the applicant was arrested and taken into custody at the Kapıkule border in Edirne, on the basis of a Red Notice issued by Italy via Interpol.
8.  On 12 August 1994 the judge at the Edirne Magistrates’ Court ordered the applicant’s provisional arrest on the basis of Article 9 of the former Criminal Code and Article 16 of the European Convention on Extradition.
9.  On 20 September 1994 the Ministry of Justice sent a letter to the Edirne Public Prosecutor informing him that, on 10 June 1992, the applicant had been sentenced to seventeen years’ imprisonment for drug trafficking in Italy. On the same day, the public prosecutor stated that the applicant should remain under provisional arrest until the decision of the Council of Ministers regarding his extradition.
10.  On 4 October 1994 the Edirne Criminal Court delivered a decision, pursuant to Article 9 of the former Criminal Code (Law no. 765), indicating the applicant’s nationality and the nature of the offences allegedly committed.
11.  On 3 November 1994 the applicant’s lawyer requested the Ministry of Justice to allow his client to be tried in Turkey for the crimes he had allegedly committed there. Subsequently, a preliminary investigation was initiated into the applicant’s activities and, on 9 November 1994, the applicant was remanded in custody in connection with the offences he had allegedly committed in Turkey.
12.  On 2 December 1994 the Edirne Public Prosecutor filed a bill of indictment charging the applicant with drug trafficking under Article 403 of the former Criminal Code.
13.  On 6 January 1995 the Council of Ministers decided to extradite the applicant to Italy when his trial in Turkey was over.
14.  On 19 April 1995 the applicant’s trial commenced before the Istanbul State Security Court. On 10 October 1997 the court ordered the applicant’s release pending trial. On the same day, he was placed in provisional detention again with a view to his extradition to Italy on the basis of the order of the Edirne Magistrates’ Court dated 12 August 1994.
15.  On 11 April 2002 the Istanbul State Security Court informed the Ministry of Justice that the applicant could be extradited to Italy.
16.  In the meantime, the applicant had filed several petitions with the Edirne Criminal Court, requesting his release. In all his petitions, he argued that his prolonged provisional detention with a view to his extradition was illegal. On 24 January 2003 the applicant’s lawyer once again requested the Edirne Criminal Court to lift the decision for the applicant’s provisional arrest and to order his release. In his petition, he relied on Article 16 of the European Convention on Extradition, which limited the length of the provisional detention to forty days after arrest. The applicant further maintained that by virtue of Article 90 of the Constitution international agreements adopted by Turkey formed an integral part of the domestic law, and thus his prolonged detention with a view to extradition for more than five years constituted a breach of Article 16 of the European Convention on Extradition. On 25 January 2003 the court dismissed this request without providing any answer to the applicant’s claim regarding the European Convention on Extradition. On 29 January 2003 the applicant’s lawyer objected to the decision of 25 January 2003, again making a reference to the European Convention on Extradition and arguing that his provisional detention, which had exceeded five years, was illegal. On 30 January 2003 the Edirne Assize Court rejected the applicant’s request for release, upholding the reasoning of the Edirne Criminal Court.
17.  On 7 February 2003 the applicant was extradited to Italy.
18.  On 29 June 2004 State Security Courts were abolished by Law no. 5190 and the criminal proceedings against the applicant were therefore transferred to the Istanbul Assize Court.
19.  On 16 February 2005 the criminal proceedings against the applicant were terminated as the statutory time-limit had expired. On 4 July 2005 the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment.
20.  On an unspecified date, the applicant returned to Serbia, where he currently resides.